New Zealand teenager Nathan Purdon, son of champion trainer-reinsman Mark Purdon, will make his first appearance in Western Australia when he drives at the meeting in Kalgoorlie on Friday night.
He arrived in Perth on Sunday afternoon and will travel to the Goldfields on Thursday evening before he drives Grandpa Jim for Wayne Justins and Kinda Black, Ima Tragedy and Bounty Eyre for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond.
His best prospect appears to be Kinda Black, who will start from the back line in the 2150m Lion Appreciation Pace. Kinda Black has struck top form recently and has won at four of his past six starts.
The 19-year-old Purdon will work as a stablehand for the Bond stable in a bid to gain experience at both training and driving pacers. He has spent the past six months working for prominent Queensland horseman Ian Gurney, trainer of outstanding pacer Avonnova, and a couple of years ago he spent a year working for Christchurch trainer Cran Dalgety.
Purdon has driven eight winners from 60 drives in New Zealand and he had 145 drives in Queensland for 31 wins and 22 placings.
Ryan Warwick will be in charge of the Bond stable’s nine runners in Kalgoorlie on Friday night and this team and 16 runners from Courtney Burch’s stable look set to dominate the eight-event program. Burch made an outstanding start to the Kalgoorlie carnival last Friday night when she prepared six winners, four seconds and one third.
Purdon, whose first winner was behind Arden Rooney in a junior drivers’ event in Rangiora in October 2013, has had the thrill of driving former champion pacers Auckland Reactor and Adore Me in trackwork and in trials in New Zealand.
“It was a real honour to drive Auckland Reactor and Adore Me,” he said. “I have driven on most tracks, including a few grass tracks, in New Zealand and I’m looking forward to the experience of driving in Kalgoorlie.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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